RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BLENDS OF POLYCARBONATE WITH POLY(ACRYLONITRILE-BUTADIENE-STYRENE)

Blends of polycarbonate (PC) and poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) of compositions ranging between 10 and 90% ABS have been investigated to study the effect of addition of ABS on the flow properties of polycarbonate. Torque data have been collected for these blends at temperatures in the range of 210-230-degrees-C and speed in the range of 40-80 rpm. on a Haake Torque Rheometer System 90. The recorded data have been interpreted in terms of shear rate. shear stress and viscosity. The viscosity of the blend has been found to decrease with shear rate, and the decrease is greater for compositions that are rich in ABS. The viscosity decreases with increase in temperature. although the activation energies show higher values for PC-rich compositions and relatively lower values for ABS-rich blends. Thus, the addition of small amounts of ABS to PC could result in materials having good properties along with improved processability.